What's the best home-based business that doesn't cost fees to start?

Question

No multi-level marketing please

Answer 1

Entrepreneur.com has a list of Low Cost Startup Businesses that you may want to consider http://www.entrepreneur.com/lowcostbusinesses/0,6617,,00.html

The best home business will depend on what you want, how you define to be interesting. A person may consider a pet sitting business to be the most exciting work in the world, while another person would rather watch TV than take care of dogs.

The key is to determine what your interests are, what you want to do, what is suitable for your lifestyle and your overall goals, and what can fit with your resources.

Dan Ramsey in his book "101 Best Home Businesses" has a chapter on how to find YOUR best home business. He suggests these 10 steps:

1. List 5 things you do best
2. List how others would benefit from what you do best
3. Find out how to give people what they want
4. Learn the value of your services to others
5. Find out who else offers similar services
6. Learn from the successes of others
7. Learn from the failures of others
8. Plan your own success
9. Make low cost mistakes
10. Enjoy what you do and how you do it

He then made suggestions on the best home businesses according to type. Here are a few of them:

Best Businesses Using Craft or Physical Skills
- antique restoration
- auto detail service
- carpet cleaning business
- errand/delivery service
- housecleaning business

Best Service Businesses
- bed and breakfast operator
- caregiver
- catering service
- senior day care center
- tutoring service

Best Professional Businesses
- desktop publisher
- magazine writer
- import/export service
- income tax preparation service
- event planner

Some other home business ideas:

Top 10 Home Businesses with Rapid Break-Even Time http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol33/breakeven.htm
10 Profitable “Go-Out" Home Businesses http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol31/goout.htm
6 Hottest Businesses on the Web http://www.powerhomebiz.com/052006/web.htm

You can also check out the following books:

The Stay-at-Home Mom's Guide to Making Money from Home, Revised 2nd Edition : Choosing the Business That's Right for You Using the Skills and Interests You Already Have (Stay-at-Home Mom's Guide) by Liz Folger
101 Best Home-Based Businesses for Women, 3rd Edition : Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road to Success (For Fun & Profit) by Priscilla Huff
Turn Your Talents into Profits: 100+ Terrific Ideas for Starting Your Own Home-Based Microbusiness
The Best Home Businesses for the 21st Century
121 Internet Businesses You Can Start from Home
The Best Internet Businesses You Can Start
101 Ways to Make Money at Home

Answer 2

Think of all your interests & ask yourself if any of those could be expanded into a business. Just keep in mind...what's your expertise? What are your interests? What could you imagine yourself doing?

By researching the prospect of starting your own business -- what it entails, what you need to know, helpful hints, etc -- you'll feel better prepared to take that plunge.

I found some book titles that are relevant to your specific question:

* 101 Internet Businesses You Can Start from Home by Susan Sweeney
* The Best Home Businesses for the 21st Century by Paul Edwards
* Selling Online: How to Become a Successful E-Commerce Merchant by Jim Carroll
* I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It by Barbara Sher
* I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work by Julie Jansen
* The Best Internet Businesses You Can Start by Marian Betancourt
* The Shoestring Entrepreneur's Guide to Internet Start-Ups by Robert Spiegel
* Making a Living Without a Job : Winning Ways For Creating Work That You Love by Barbara Winter

I also posted some article links in the source box.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 3

I have two home businesses which I love. One is my own tutoring business. I've been teaching for 15 years and started tutoring 10 years ago. Very successful, but you need an advanced degree.

Another business I started last year was Mary Kay. 50% profit from the start. Only $100 for the starter kit which includes almost $400 worth of products. Lots of fun, and the training and support are excellent.

www.marykay.com/michelepasbrig

Check out my website for more info.

Answer 4

If you're not willing to spend a little money on a home based business, how do you expect to be successful? Just for the books here is a business that's very cheap. Just look for lucky5 scratch cards on Google.

Answer 5

This is for people that are serious and who don’t want to be misled as we have tried many things and have found a company that has been around for 21 Years and pays you to advertise for them. My wife and I just started and are doing well. It is not an MLM company and no selling, no deliveries or stocking product. My wife’s aunt has been working with this Company (Melaleuca) for a little over 3 years and home schools 3 kids and makes $9,000 a month. It is a 500 Inc company and the CEO is on the U.S. Chamber of commerce board. I can arrange a web cast with my wife’s aunt for you and you can decide by yourself and WE WILL help you be successful. It is an honest Win Win.
If you want to see a web cast (presentation) from your home let me know and I will arrange it as that truly is the way to see all about Melaleuca. Have you heard of it. We have just gotten started with my wife's aunts help as it is a team effort and it is fun. Just a quick F.Y.I. 8 out of 10 people that see the web cast join the company and 95% of the people that join re-order product each and every month. Let me know when you are ready and we will set up the web cast.
e-mail: [e-mail]
Thanks,
Rich & Teresa

Answer 6

You can try setting up a business in your home. Our teacher said that if you cannot apply for a job, then you can set up your own business. At that time, our batch which were the 8th graders is composed of 5 sections and each section had different subject for TLE (Technology and Livelihood Education). Our subject was computer together with another section. The whole year, we talk about Adobe Photoshop. Our teacher said "you can raise up your very own business by editing images, the only requirement is a complete computer attached with scanners and printers and connected to the internet." To the 2 sections they had drafting for TLE and for the second semester of the whole year, they talked about macro media. I heard their teacher said "entrepreneurship is needed when you cannot apply for job but if you learn how to draft then you will learn how to apply the skills you learned have learned in architecture." The last section's TLE became HE (Home Economics). I have learned home economics when I was still a 4th grader until 6th grader and I have pretty much of an idea of what is their lesson. They're going to cook their own food and setup a cafeteria for themselves.

Answer 7

I suggest you to do Data entry job. It will not make you rich but you can make some quick cash at home by simply entering data .It is a simple program that any one can do.You may not make huge dollars in a week but you can make comfortable living from it, only when you work with the legitimate data entry companies.
I would recommend you to check the website below where the top data entry programs have been reviewed by the experts.

http://www.top-sites-review.net/money-data.php

Another way to earn is through Surveys. Paid survey do offer a lot of potential, if you work with the legitimate survey company.
Also check the website below where the top survey on net have been reviewed by the experts. All you have to do is sign up with the company of your choice . They will send you survey via email that contain link that will take you to the survey site . They pay you anywhere from $5 - $75 for each survey which takes about 10- 15 min.
Browse through the site to find the right program for you.
Hope this helps

http://www.top-sites-review.net/money-surveys.php

Answer 8

What do you like to do? What do you do well??

A friend of mine runs a translation and interpretation business from her home. Another does PR and marketing. Another does graphic design. I know one that does accounting and back office work.

I guess it depends more upon what YOU do. Pretty much any business can be done from home...no magic in that!

Answer 9

Hello,

Wake up!

Any good business has some cost involved. You can't get something for nothing. It's against the Law of Nature. Why not build your own Web site for fun and profit?

Hello, are you listening!

Here are the absolute essential steps that must be followed to create your own website. Don't just create a Web site. You want a Web site that stands out. One that works.

If you follow these steps you will create a Web site that works. A Web site that will produce income, build equity, and create a financial fortress for you that can be sold for real money, if you disire.

Step 1 - Master the Basics by understanding the difference between "preselling" and "selling". People do not like to be sold. There is no “magic” or “secret” methods like the "Gurus" would have you believe.

People use the Web as a searching tool. Success on the Net begins with a critical mindset shift. This means replacing that well-known offline strategy of “location, location, location” with …

“Information, information, information”.

You attract free traffic with credible information related to the theme of your site. You need a niche so step 2 is…

Step 2 – Develop the best site concept. Find a niche, a theme that interests you, a passion, a hobby, special knowledge you may have.

Step 3 – Explore keywords to find the best site concept. Get demand for your keywords, Get supply for your keywords. Pick the keywords that have greater demand than supply. These are the keywords that will allow you to monetize your Web site. Your best site concept must be in demand, not be too broad, and should excite you. (Something you know and love).

Step 4 – Create a list of potential site concepts and pick the top three for further research. Guidelines for picking the best candidate are: Number of keywords, overall profitability, knowledge, passion, and monetization potential.

Step 5 – Weave a wide-web of keyword-focused content pages, topical pages of interest that will attract and catch the surfers most interested in those subjects related to your site concept.

Step 6 – Each keyword should “fit” into an evolving 3-tiered site blueprint of your content. Tier 1 is your homepage, next are your tier-2 hub pages. Next, your tier-2 pages link to tier-3 pages (the mass of content), so if you have 15 tier-2 and 15 tier-3 pages for each tier-2, that 225 tier-3 pages. Take your time – you don’t have to do them all this week.

Step 7 – Investigate and plan your Monetization mix. Learn how to apply Google AdSense to your site. Remember: monetization comes last. Make every visitor to your Web site contribute to your bottom line. If they don't want to buy something, they'll submit a lead via a form. Or they'll click on a Google ad. Or they'll click on a contextual affiliate text link that recommends the product of a related merchant (weave affiliate links naturally into your content -- do NOT "pitch"!).

Step 7 – Refine Site Concepts and Register Domain Name. What is your VPP, “Valuable Selling Proposition? What specific and high-value information does your site deliver? What is your unique positioning for this delivery? Don’t mix themes. Remember both types of visitors: humans and Search Engine spiders. What does your Web site provide? Outline the key benefits to your surfers. Identify your unique benefit that makes you stand out: Summarize all of the above into one tight, powerful motivating phrase that will persuade you clients to do business with you, to trade their money for the benefits you deliver.

Step 8 - Ready? Name that domain. A good domain name is: short and sharp, meaningful, easy to spell, easy to remember, unique, solid, contains your VPP for human visitors, contains your Site Concept keyword, attractive to humans, ends in the class “.com”, “.net”, or “.org” (by far the best regarded by surfers). Make sure it’s legal.

Step 9 – Congratulations! Your good to start building your Web site. Eliminate any “Get Rich Quick” (GRQ) that the Internet may have put into your head. GRQ does not exist, never works, and lures your away from reality. Get real.

Step 10 - Continue to build high-value, credible content.

High-value content, content that gets found, is the critical lynchpin for building a viable, profitable, vibrant Web Business.

Anything else is a waste of time and money.

Hope this helps,
Walter A Brown, Webmaster
[e-mail]

P.S. Cost is under $300 for a quality Web site based on the above principles and steps.

P.P.S. Do not make the mistake of picking a "free" Web site builder. They will just take your money and you will be left with an empty shell that does nothing and has an Alexa rank equal to "no data". You end up in the purgatory of the Information Highway.

P.P.P.S. Do not hesitate to ask me any other questions about creating your own Web site.

Answer 10

Look at how I do my psychic business.

Then see if you can fit something similar around your own expertise. About $300 will get you started.

Then all you need is a passion, some persistence, and you know that old fashioned word - w.o.r.k. http://www.psychic-junkie.com/are-you-psychic.html